2-year old survives 15 minute submersion

CHICAGO -- High winds apparently blew a stroller with a 2-year-old
boy inside into Lake Michigan in the Lakeview neighborhood.

The toddler's grandfather went into the waters of at Belmont Harbor
after
the child, who was submerged in the water for about 15 minutes, and
both
were hospitalized in critical condition Friday afternoon.

At 2:36 p.m. fire crews responded to the 3200 block of North Lake
Shore
Drive for a report of a person in the water, according to Fire Media
Affairs
Cmdr. Will Knight.

The man, who is about 60, was taking the toddler, who was in a
stroller, out
for a walk along the lakefront near Belmont Harbor when high winds
blew the
stroller into the lake, according to Fire Media Affairs Director Larry
Langford.

The man went into the lake after the toddler, who was wearing a
diaper. The
baby was probably submerged in the water for at least 15 minutes,
Langford
said.

Fire Media Asst. Director Eve Rodriguez said the man was pulled out
of the
water almost immediately, while divers had to go into the water to
search
for the baby, who was still strapped into the stroller.

The baby was taken in critical condition to Advocate Illinois Masonic
Medical Center. The man, who was alert but seriously to critically
injured,
was taken to Saint Joseph Hospital, Langford said.

The water temperature was 42 degrees, according to Rodriguez, who
said the
water was 10 to 12 feet deep in that area.

The incident was the second Lake Michigan emergency reported Friday,
as a
body was discovered washed up on the rocks at Foster Avenue Beach on
the
North Side earlier in the afternoon.

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Cleveland-Area Boy Survives Stroller's Dip In Lake
2-Year-Old Under Water For 15 Minutes

The hospital says Lazar Ognjenovic has been transferred to the Rehabilitation Institute of Chicago.

The child's grandfather had been pushing him in a stroller along the lakeside on April 18th when the stroller went into the 42-degree water. Authorities say the grandfather jumped into the harbor to save the boy but was able only to shout for help.

The boy remained submerged for at least 15 minutes before members of the Chicago Fire Department's dive team pulled him out.